Penny Parker Drabbles
by AuthorandArtist13
Summary: A collection of short-n'-sweet drabbles for Queens' favorite Spidergirl. Prompt box always open!
1. KAREN

**A/N: Hey guys. There was some interest in Penny drabbles, so I figured I might as well go with it. Just a heads up: these aren't meant to be my best writing, or the longest. I would recommend using reader's view to help with formatting! Anyways, I wrote this one up on my phone on a very long car ride. I considered not posting this (grade-A perfectionist here), but I hope one of you likes it! **

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Penny Parker slumped against the side of the brick building, sighing as Karen insisted for the tenth time that she call Tony.

"You have a severe fracture in your wrist _and_ a sprained ankle," the AI said. Penny could almost hear the exasperation in her tone. "Not to mention the varying degrees of bruising."

"I know. And I'm fine." Penny replied through clenched teeth.

"You do not appear to be—"

"I said I'm _fine_!" Penny snapped. She winced and dropped her head against the wall.

Karen was silent as she took in a breath, let it out, and pulled herself to her feet. Penny staggered, leaning against the freezing wall for support as she stumbled out of the alleyway she'd collapsed in during patrols. Not her most dignified moments, if she was being perfectly honest.

She paid no mind to the fact that she was running dangerously low on web fluid—she should have enough to go a few more blocks. Shooting a web up to the nearby roof, she began to swing using only her good hand. No matter that she was too close to hitting the ground before she caught herself. This was fine. She was fine.

Karen was still quiet while she nearly face planted into a fifth-story window and had to pry herself off the glass.

She said nothing while Penny muffled a scream into her gloves when she slammed her bad arm into a streetlamp.

Still nothing while she cursed far too loudly at the goose that came out of the sky from nowhere, probably causing a few onlookers to stop and stare a while.

Finally, Penny fell onto the roof of an apartment building, sighing in defeat.

"Alright, Karen. Enough with the cold shoulder."

The AI replied after a beat. "Would you like me to call Mr. Stark?"

Penny thought about trying to make it another half mile in her state. She groaned and fell onto her back.

"What if we called Colonel Rhodes instead?"

And that's how Rhodey found her, five minutes later, laughing his ass off before taking her out for medical attention and a box of donuts.

Not her worst moment.

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**A/N: Alright, that's it! I tried to write whump and ended up with cheesy fluff, help! Please feel free to take a second to review and leave any prompts you have in mind. Bc these are so short, I'll probably update a bit more often. Thanks for reading and g'night! **


	2. We'll Figure This Out

**A/N: Got another one!**

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"Penny."

"Yes?"

"No."

"Yes."

"Penny, no."

"I have to, Mr. Stark."

"No. No, no, no. You don't."

"You don't underst-"

"Let me handle this! Let us handle this."

Penny looked up from loading her webshooters and met Tony's eyes. "This is for me, Mr. Stark." She gave a wry smile. "This is my job."

Tony's eyes were frantic, pleading. "Penny. Kid. Please. Just...stay. We can work this out together."

Penny shook her head again, tears welling in her eyes. "He hurt her, Mr. Stark. He hurt May."

"I know. I know, kiddo. But this isn't rational. You can't throw yourself into the fire for this."

"May's going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of her _life,_" Tears streamed down Penny's face as she spoke. "Best case scenario."

"I have a team of the best doctors on this planet to help her. Hell, I could probably find ones on other planets, too."

"I have to find him. I _need_ to find him."

Tony pressed his lips together. "And then what?"

"What?" Penny stopped her fidgeting with her webshooters.

Tony's voice was soft, gentle. He spoke slowly. "What are you going to do once you have him?"

That threw Penny for a twisted loop. What would she do? Throwing him in prison didn't seem like enough for the gunman who had hurt May so badly, who had _shattered_ both her legs. But what were her other options? Hurt him—how? Kill him? Penny shuddered. If let loose, would she lose her mind and kill a man?

She didn't know.

Her silence was answer enough for Tony.

"Pen. Take the suit off."

"I can't." Her voice croaked.

Tony was firm. "Take it off."

"But-what if-"

"You have the Avengers behind you, kiddo. Sam and Steve are already tracking him down as we speak." He said. "This isn't your responsibility. Or your fault."

That did it. Penny crumpled. She choked out a sob as Tony reached forward, holding her close as she cried into his shoulder. It took what felt like hours, but eventually the tears slowed, and she found herself sitting at the kitchen counter, a mug of something warm pressed into her hand. She drank and felt something shift back into place, just a little.

"Thank you." She whispered. Tony smiled softly.

"We'll make this work out."

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A/N: Thanks for reading. :)


	3. Fault

**A/N: I'm back with a very angst-y one, whoops. (And in other news, I'd like to interact with your guys more, especially since I'll probably be posting more often. So I've got a poll up on my profile page! What would you like to participate in with me-an author Q-and-A? An ask game? Take a minute to vote and let me know!)**

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"Stop."  
"How many, Mr. Stark?"  
"Kid, don't. Don't do this to yourself."  
"How many?"  
"This isn't your fault."  
Penny ran her fingers through her hair wildly. _It was!_ She wanted to scream. Losing who knows how many lives in an apartment fire because she was too slow to catch on to the explosives inside was most definitely her fault. An _apartment building_. It could have been hers. It could have been May. Tony was still trying to reason with her, resigned pain in his eyes.

"Penny."  
She looked up, and her voice cracked. "Mr. Stark."  
Tony shook his head. "Penny…"  
_"Tell me!"_ she screamed. Tears streamed down her face and she scrubbed them away angrily, hating how each sob was choking her on its escape from her throat. She had half a mind to grab the wrench on the table beside her and throw it as hard as she could across the room, to watch as it shattered something precious. _She heard a baby wailing on the upper floor before Tony dragged her away…_

The world blurred and Penny faltered, the ground rushing up to meet her. Arms encircled her, holding her close, and she squeezed her eyes shut in a vain attempt to shut out the world. Someone was propping her up against the couch...there were voices around her, screaming-or maybe that was just her own head. Something was draped around her shoulders and she burrowed into it._ There was another set of heartbeats on the stairs, getting faster and faster…_

It was her fault. Every last one of them that didn't get out, whether one or fifty, was her fault. She should have known the second her senses went off. Even after she had moved faster than she knew she could, pounding on doors and swinging through the building's stairwells, chucking kids out windows to awaiting parents, it wasn't enough. She still wasn't fast enough.

And then Tony had showed up and he was yelling at her to get out of there, to back off, that another bomb was essentially going to blow in seconds, maybe right now, dammit.

She took that to mean she had a few more seconds to save lives, but the iron armour dragging her backwards clearly thought otherwise.

_ The heartbeats got faster and faster..._

She kicked and screamed something unintelligible, something about a cat in the elevator. Then she watched, in horror, as the building burst into flames and collapsed.  
There would be no survivors.

_And stopped._

Abruptly.

Suddenly.

It felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her.

She had gone limp in Tony's suit-locked arms. Almost blacked out entirely, except for the image of the roaring building burned into her memory. She knew that in an hour, first responders would be rooting through the ashes, hunting for bones.

She had leaned over and thrown up all over the cracked sidewalk.

Penny had no idea how they'd gotten back to the Compound.

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When she came to for the second time, she was on the couch in the living room. She could hear voices a few rooms down, murmuring words like _guilt_ and_ lose her_ and _right thing._ She sat up cursed, the images rushing back to her, and the voices stopped. May stepped into the room first, and instantly Penny felt a wave of relief. Tony followed, lingering in the doorway as May rushed closer. She pulled Penny into a hug without a word, and she melted.

"I'm sorry." she whispered hoarsely.

May shook her head fiercely. "No, honey. Not your fault."

Penny pressed her lips together and tried her hardest to let the words sink in.

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**A/N: Thank you for reading, and if you enjoyed, reviews always make my day. :) Thank you to those who've reviewed so far! And remember to vote on that poll-I'm hoping to tally them by sometime next week, so get your votes in now! I'll hand over the results on both my profile page and whichever fic posted around that time.**

** Until next time,**  
**-A.A.13**


	4. Happy Holidays!

**A/N: Happy holidays! I wanted to post a little Christmas something, so here's my gift to all of you. :) I might do more later today or this week, we'll see.**

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"You murdered my snowman."

"Whoops." Tony said with a smirk, grinning at Penny. She scooped up a handful of previously-sculpted snow in her mitten-clad hands and threw it at him. It hit him square in the face and she laughed. Tony scrunched his nose as he wiped clumps of snow away, flinging them in her direction.

"Oh, now it's on!"

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The echoing of their laughter floated across to where Rhodey and May were sitting on the lakehouse's porch, drinking cocoa. May tore her eyes away from the cheery scene and sipped the steaming drink.

"It's nice to see them take a break."

"Mm." Rhodey nodded. "I think we'll get more of this, now that Tony's finally decided to retire."

"Did he, now?"

"I think he's finally seeing the benefits of domestic life." They watched as Tony picked up Penny and launched her into a snowbank. She emerged laughing hysterically, snatching his hand and tugging him in face-first to join her.

May smiled. Ever since the fall of Thanos, Tony had taken her and Penny in like they were family. They _were _family, she supposed. Every other weekend was spent at the lakehouse, sometimes more. He insisted on paying for their new, massive apartment. Tony showed up for every mathlete competition, every choir concert Penny had. If she even hinted that she needed help on a school project, he was there. On her birthday he invited every superhero he knew for the most spectacular bash either of them had ever laid eyes on.

And when Penny woke up from nightmares screaming and fighting, and May wasn't quite enough to soothe her, she put him on the phone.

Tony and Penny were both collapsed on the ground, Penny making snow angels while Tony closed his eyes and rested, face more peaceful than he'd been in decades.

"I love them both so much." May said softly, setting her mug down with a thud. Droplets of cocoa splashed over the edge and onto the table. Rhodey nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, I think they're doing just fine."

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Tony and Penny made the trek back to the house a while later after Pepper announced lunch. They were both freezing a soaked to the bone, Penny's teeth chattering uncontrollably. They climbed the steps and Penny collapsed on the rocking chair waiting next to May.

"Have fun?" Rhodey asked.

Penny nodded contentedly and rested her head on May's shoulder. "Mm-hm. I heard word of food?"

"Right here," Pepper said from the doorway. She motioned towards the kitchen. "Soup's on."

"Yess." Penny trodded inside, tossing a look at Tony over her shoulder. "After lunch you're helping me resuscitate my poor snowman, right?"

Tony grinned and ruffled her hair. "'Course."

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**A/N: Happy holidays! :)**

**(Oh-and to celebrate my one-year anniversary at FFN, I'm doing an author Q&A! Check out the ask list and instructions over on my profile page to get to know me better.)**


	5. Light Up The Night Sky

**A/N: I found a wonderful little list ****of Christmas prompts, so I've got another one for you. Enjoy! :) (Readers view recommended!)**

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"Well, Queens? Do you like it?"

"Like it?" Penny laughed, swinging through the air as Tony flew above her. She stared in awe at the bedazzled Stark Industries Tower before her. "That's friggin' incredible."

She could hear the smile in Tony's voice as he spoke through her comms. "Pepper said I was going overboard."

"You _did _go overboard." Penny giggled again, catching her web on a lamp post and launching herself upwards. It was nighttime. Tony had insisted she suit up and meet him over at the Tower for some sort of secret Christmas surprise, and Penny was not disappointed.

The entire tower was decked out head-to-toe in Christmas lights and decorations. It looked like a massive, rectangular Christmas tree, all shiny baubles and twinkling stars. At the very top was a lit silhouette of a sleigh, complete with Santa and all his merry reindeer. In the vast darkness of the bustling city, the Tower was practically a beacon of light that took Penny's breath away.

"I knew you'd love it." Tony said. He circled the tower and landed on the roof, patting the ground beside him. Penny swung over, soaking in the feeling of flying through the stars on Christmas Eve. She landed next to Tony, who disassembled his armor and leaned back, propped up on his elbows and staring at the sky. Penny pulled off her mask and mimicked his position. The two of them sat for a moment, staring up at the sky and the stars that were no longer visible thanks to the momentous amount of lights around them.

"I mean, how many Christmas lights does one person need?" Tony asked, breaking the silence.

"I think this is kind of for the whole city. And all of New York state."

"Eh, that's what this tower's for. That, and, you know, the whole world domination thing. You know what, I think I could give good ol' Bentleyville a run for its money."

Penny huffed out a laugh. "Sure."

Tony smiled and wrapped an arm around Penny's shoulders, ignoring the slightly uncomfortable way it pulled at his joints in favor of showing a little affection.

They stayed there for long time, the two superheroes, breathing in the cool night air until their noses were red and numb. Amidst the hustle and bustle fifty stories below, Tony leaned over and pressed a kiss to Penny's temple. She smiled and pointed towards the skyline, where the lights were slowly flickering out in the apartments and storefronts. They sat and watched and listened until Pepper called, insisting they call it a night. As Tony pulled Penny to her feet and they headed towards the roof exit, he motioned grandly towards the light show around them.

"Merry Christmas, kid."

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**A/N: Merry Christmas! Remember to send in your q's from the get to know the author asks on my profile page if you'd like—I'd love to answer any of 'em. And while we're self-promoting, my first published fic, Don't Call, has a new bonus chapter out now! Thanks for reading. :) **


	6. Framed

**A/N: I felt like doing something fun today before midterms kick me to the curb! Readers' view recommended.**

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"Why do you have a stuffed animal on your desk?"

"That's not a stuffed animal. That's Wall-E, and he keeps me from losing my mind."

Penny huffed out a laugh and rolled her eyes at Tony. They were clearing out a good portion of his workshop so Pepper's team of engineers could fix the excessively large amount of water damage it had sustained a week prior. Tony had insisted it wasn't necessary.

"_I'm_ an engineer, Pep. Why do we need these other guys?"

"Because they don't get sidetracked every five minutes, Tony." Pepper had said, not bothering to glance up from the documents she was signing. "And besides," she said, capping her pen, "It'll be good for you to clean that place up."

"Oh, come on! The walls aren't even wrecked that bad."

"You are the king of collateral damage. They are bad." Pepper raised one eyebrow in challenge and Tony deflated. "Have Penny help you. She always likes to hang out." With that, she pecked Tony on the lips and was gone.

Now the two of them were up to their elbows in Tony's stuff. Despite what the man claimed about not being a nostalgic person, he did have a bit of a tendency to collect things and never put them back.

"I swear some days I find Dum-E plotting ways to get rid of him," Tony said, gesturing towards the plush. "He's jealous."

"No, he's not," Penny said, patting Dum-E on the head affectionately. "I bet they'd be friends." She carefully packed the small toy into a cardboard box with the rest of Tony's desk items. "Speaking of which, I thought you said Colonel Rhodes was coming over today?"

"He is, but he's gonna be late. Sam wants him to visit his VA group."

Penny nodded and opened a desk drawer. "What the..."

"What? Oh, no." Tony sighed, glancing into the drawer Penny was staring at. "Yeah, that would be the chocolate."

"There's so much!" Penny exclaimed, riffling through countless gourmet bars. "Is this from Peru?"

"Eat whatever you want," Tony replied, turning back to his stack of toolboxes. I keep those in here for when I get hungry. And you never know when Pepper'll want one."

Penny peeled back the wrapper of one claiming to be filled with peppermint and bit into it. She grinned.

"You're fantastic."

"I know."

A few more minutes passed with the two of them sorting through Tony's stuff, trading stories and casual banter as they went. Several times Tony had to keep from buckling with laughter at the ridiculous items Penny would hold up, from Hello Kitty staplers to a shirtless Captain America beach towel.

"My God, why do I still have this?" He cried as Penny produced a Tony Stark replica by someone who had clearly not been informed that his superhero self was not, in fact, an actual clothing iron. Penny tucked the minifigure into her pocket, half clutching her sides as she laughed.

"I'm showing Clint."

"You better not!" Tony shouted. He lunged for Penny and she dodged him, sending him crashing into a shelving unit. Penny clapped a hand over her mouth, an apology ready, but stopped when she saw one of the (many) things that had fallen from the shelves. She picked it up.

Tony was still smiling as he wiped a giddy tear from his eye. "Jeez, I haven't laughed this hard in years. I forgot how quick you are." When he didn't get a response he looked over to where Penny was sitting. "Pen?"

Penny was clutching a photo frame. In it was a picture of the two of them from their trip to California the previous summer. Tony's sunglasses are off, resting on his head, and he has an easy smile on his face—relaxed, content. The ocean breeze is blowing Penny's hair half into her face, and her head is thrown back in laughter at something the person taking the picture must have said. They're standing on a beach, toes digging into the sand, Tony's arm slung over her shoulder. They both look happy. Really, really happy.

Penny remembers that trip. Tony and Pepper had taken her and May with them for two weeks to their Malibu mansion. They spent the entire time eating shaved ice and touring the city and, in the case of her and Tony, dunking each other in the freezing ocean while Pepper and May gossiped on shore over margaritas. It was the first time Penny felt like they were a family.

"Oh." Tony said, as Penny gazed at the photograph. "If you'd rather I not keep that, I can just-"

Penny was already swatting him on the arm. "No, loser. I like it."

"Who are you calling a loser?" Tony smirked, warmth flooding through his chest. This kid.

"The genius who just flung himself head first into a shelving unit." Penny retorted, standing the picture frame back up in its place and returning to the stacks of boxes on the other end of the shop. "Come on, we have some Marie Kondo-ing to do."

Of all the hilarious, strange, and downright insane things they packed away that day, the photograph wasn't one of them.

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**A/N: I don't know where this one came from, but I like how it turned out! Let me know what you think in the reviews. (Notice: author asks are still up on my profile page! Send those in if you'd like, too.) :)**


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